• 21May 13

  Microsoft Conference Thoughts

  Microsoft's new "Xbox One" has been revealed just weeks before E3 and I have a few thoughts on their presentation.

  I personally did not enjoy the presentation as a gamer. It felt as if Microsoft left gamers in the cold and focused on simple afterthought features such as Apps, Social Networking, Media, and TV. The fact that MS did not focus next gen games did not nessisarily bother me because the whole idea of the event is to just to reveal what the Xbox One's next generation hardware abilities were. They barely revealed anything as far as next gen can do.

  Only 3 games were shown that I can remember; 2 of which are sequels. Forza Motorsport 5, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and a new IP from the makers of Kane and Lynch. Now, these are all nice games and all, but Microsoft needed to really use a game that can fully express the capabilities of the new hardware.

  Forza 5 had the best trailer as far as showing what this new shiny Xbox One can do. It seemed to show off higher resolution models and environmental/lighighting details, which is great. Call of Duty Ghosts is being developed to run on current generation games and it did not impress from a next gen standpoint. And finally, the new IP didn't display anything as it was a live action trailer with generally prerendered gameplay sequences.

  I am very displeased about the name of the console. The leaked "Xbox Infinity" name was a much better name. It's as if MS didn't want people to be right about rumors and speculation so they changed it for no reason. Also, I did not like that they were using big numbers and seldom used terms in the specifications. They should have skipped that part completely and used a real time LIVE demo to showcase what next gen can do.

  All that I can say is that I'm glad we know what the Nextbox is and what it looks like and I'm excited to see all the new next gen games at E3.

  • Posted May 21, 2013 9:08 pm GMT
  • Category: Opinion
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• 30Aug 12

  Binding of Isaac: Initial Thoughts

  The Binding of Isaac is a game based on Genesis chapter 22 in the Bible, where Abraham is tested by God by commanding Abraham to offer his cherished, only son, Isaac , as a burnt sacrifice. What many people forget or ignore, is that later in the chapter, God saved Isaac by sending an angel commanding Abraham, knife in hand, not to lay a hand on the boy. This was test for Abraham to prove that he feared the Lord. God rewarded Abraham by blessing his descendants and making them "as numerous as the stars."

  The art direction in this game is, in some ways, masterful. The character design and facial animations are phenomenal, but the color palette is bland and dirty. It seems like the only color in the game is either red, brown, or tan, which is somewhat dissapointing. Blood and gore is very plentiful, which sometimes makes it satisfying destroying a boss, but frankly (Who is Frankly? Huh, WHO!!!! *gets shoveled*), the gore and blood is just plain wrong looking for many of the numerous enemy designs. There comes a time when you wonder "how much blood could POSSIBLY be in a small, carnivorous flesh blob?" In a completely different area of art/graphical design, there is not 1080p support for fullscreen at this point in time, meaning that, if you have a 1080p monitor, the image will be altered infull screen. Hopefully this feature will make it into the game in a future update.

  Control is a huge issue in this game. The problem isn't exactly the responsiveness, but the feel. Playing on the PC, the default controll scheme is ASDW for moving and the directional keys for projecting tears (Yes, Isaac fights with tears... like a man! ). The moving part is right, but the directional keys just do not feel right for several reasons, the first being, since the game is structured like the original Zelda's dungeon areas, you would expect a single fire button and the direction Isaac is facing chooses which of the four directions he will fire. For example, it should be natural to assume that pressing "D" would make you face right, and the fire button would shoot right, but with the directional key scheme, you could shoot left while looking right. Secondly, controls like that feel like they belong in an arcade game, not a console experience. In addition to 1080p support, cross your fingers for "traditional Zelda" controlls later on.

  So, there are some initial thought and critique on the game. Thank you for reading another pointless blog.

  Xplode_77
  

  • Posted Aug 30, 2012 8:09 pm GMT
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• 18Jan 12

  My Birthday

  Hello everyone, I recently had a birthday and turned 17, which means I can buy M-rated games. My friend gave me her Wii because she doesn't play it anymore, but she only had four games and they aren't very good besides Twilight Princess (which I am playing through on the Gamecube). Also Petz Horsez 2 is amazing!!! If features 13 frames per second and graphics that will give the Sega Saturn a run for it's money. To celebrate getting a Wii, I bought Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. They are both really (REALLY) good although Smash Bros. is my favorite. I'm also on the lookout for a Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword bundle that comes with the gold Wii-mote. So, yeah, whatever...

  I think I might download Bastion on XBLA because it looks pretty fun...

  Gosh this was such a pointless blog... Thank you for reading it though; I promise I'm playing games (Super Crate Box-ipod Touch) and being cool (eating fajitas).

  

  Xplode_77

  • Posted Jan 18, 2012 8:46 pm GMT
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